The Mighty Browns Are The Team Of The Future

 

I think I can speak for all Browns fans when I say that I don't care if I ever see Dillon Gabriel play another football game.  I expect to hear nothing all week except how Shedeur Sanders is clearly the franchise quarterback this team has been looking for since Otto Graham.  While this is clearly a misguided hope, it is plainly evident at this point that the high water mark for Gabriel appears to be "a sort of shitty Cody Kessler" whereas at least Sanders can extend plays and put the ball downfield.  I'm on board.  Once you accept that the Browns aren't going to win on a regular basis, the goal should always be "lose in an entertaining fashion".  I am still mystified as to why the Browns didn't start Jameis Winston for 17 games last year and hold onto him again this year.  While Sanders has yet to conjure up that Winston magic of 90% competence and 10% "OMG NOOO!!!", I think he can get there.  This at least gives hope over the last two months of yet another lost season that there will be mild moments of entertainment.  That's all I'm looking for here.

Sanders looked not necessarily good but he's better than Gabriel.  There is hope and potential there.  There is no doubt that there is a tremendous upgrade to Sanders because he can at the very least push the ball upfield.  The Raiders committed 100% to stopping the run, and Sanders was able to connect to some long passes downfield, something the Browns haven't seen since September.  That would not and could not have happened with Gabriel.  If Jerry Jeudy hadn't been doing whatever it was that he was doing, he might have added another touchdown.  BTW, how are the Browns going to get out of that Jeudy deal?  It's like they paid list price for a souped up Kia because they thought they got a deal on a Porsche and then it turned out to be the Kia like everyone else said it was in the first place.  I think Jeudy might need another "change of scenery" as it is delicately phrased.

I'm just going to say it.  I like Sanders.  I don't know if he's going to turn into a real NFL QB or not, but at least I like the kid.  He's fun.  He's always smiling.  He's engaged with his teammates.  He'll whip the ball downfield.  What else do you want?  I loved seeing Watson in his $4000 sunglasses inside the dome stadium interacting with almost no one as a contrast to Sanders.  Sanders has energy and you can see the rest of the team thinks they're better off with him in there.  Watson was standing around with most of the players giving him side glances like "Who is that?  Did he used to work here or something?".  There's six games left, there is nothing at stake, so let's see where this thing goes with Sanders.  As insurance, the organization can feel confident that Gabriel is ready to lead them to a 4-13 finish if needed.          

Before we enshrine Sanders in the Hall of Fame, let's stay in our shoes.  The Raiders are so fucking bad.  I trotted out the word "putrid" on a text while watching it.  It's hard to gauge Sanders on this game as a stand alone.  I've watched the last two Raider games in their entirety and they look very Brownsy.  They have that combination of "lack of ability meets poor coaching blended with stupid penalties" that we all know so well.  Those guys were cooked when the Browns got that punt return deep into their territory to go up 7-0.  That is an insurmountable mountain for the 2025 Raiders.  Frankly, I'm surprised Stefanski didn't go into victory formation at that point instead of waiting until the early 3rd quarter like he did.  By the way, can someone explain to me the thinking in not going for a 4th and 2 on the Raiders 29 with two minutes left?  What would be the downside of a running play not working there?  You could have put the Raiders on the Browns 9 and they wouldn't have scored.  That decision right there tells you all you need to know about Stefanski's spirit.  Being risk averse isn't a highly regarded quality in the NFL in 2025.

A quick word about Myles.  It can be nauseating to listen to the network TV calls each week when these announcing teams think they are nailing it with a fresh take talking about how Myles is a premier pass rusher.  If you're watching the game you have a pretty good idea of who the fuck Myles Garrett is, no?  It's like when The Fan sports talk has those 20/20 ticker sports news updates at late Monday afternoon with the lead story of "The Browns beat the Raiders 24-10 in Shedeur Sanders debut" as if I haven't been listening to guys shit talk all day about the game on their stupid station.  Hey dipshits... I am listening to local sports talk radio so there is a pretty good chance I know who won the Browns game.  I don't need you to tell me a day later like I was trapped in a cave.  I have a fucking phone and a TV. 

Myles is unblockable.  That guy is a handful and why the piece of shit Raiders decided at times to leave one of their shitty tackles or a tight end (!!!) one-on-one to block him shows how overmatched Chip Kelly is as an offensive coordinator.  The Raiders should have fired him in the locker room and given him a room at the Circus Circus as an exit package.  I think this is the first season Myles hasn't had some major injury he's playing through at this point in the year.  It's a shame he's toiling in relative obscurity here in Cleveland, because he is a generational player that is a first ballot Hall Of Famer that we are going to miss when he's gone.  What a waste for him to be marooned in Cleveland.  He is, without question, having the best season I've ever seen from an edge rusher.  

I'm actually looking forward to the game against the Niners next week.  That's a team that is decimated on defense by injuries, and yet no matter how bad they suck right now are still a step up in competition from the Raiders.  Dare I say it might be "fun" to see this game next week to see how Sanders does AND watch Myles kick the shit out of Mac Jones or Brock Purdy?  On a Sunday with ex-Browns QBs doing crazy shit all over the schedule (Flacco/Winston/Brissett/Mayfield), it was only the current Hope Of The Franchise that got the win.  Every dog has his day and on Sunday it was the Browns.  While this will probably be looked back as the high water mark for our hope on Sanders, at least he is more interesting to watch than any other of those stiffs.  

Go Browns.